26
CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
increase of 12 constituencies, making a total of 87 constituencies in 10 districts in the Urban Council area and 70 constituencies in the nine districts in the Regional Council area.
The number of Urban Council constituencies remains at 15, each being a single-seat constituency comprising a fair number of district board constituencies in the Urban Council area. There are 12 single-seat constituencies for the Regional Council, each consisting of a number of district board constituencies in the Regional Council area. The next elections to these two councils are due in March 1989.
An elector may vote only in the constituency in which he has been registered. He may, however, stand for election to the Urban Council, the Regional Council or a district board in any constituency, provided he has been resident in Hong Kong for the preceding 10 or more years and his nomination is supported by 10 electors in that constituency. Elections are held on a three-year cycle, and voting is by simple majority.
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Electoral System for the Legislative Council
The system for indirect election to the Legislative Council was introduced in 1985 and involves an electoral college and nine functional constituencies. The electoral college comprises two special constituencies, the Urban Council and the Regional Council, and 10 district board constituencies, each returning one member to the Legislative Council. The functional constituencies, covering the commercial, industrial, financial, labour, social services, medical, legal, teaching and engineering and associated professions sectors, also return a total of 12 members.
The franchise for Legislative Council elections is prescribed as follows: for the electoral college, an elector must be a member of the Urban Council, the Regional Council or a district board making up the respective special constituencies and district board con- stituencies. For functional constituencies, an elector who is an individual must have been registered under the Electoral Provisions Ordinance for the Urban Council, Regional Council and district board elections and be a member of an organisation forming part of the rele- vant constituency. No person may be registered in more than one functional constituency even if he is eligible. An elector who is not an individual must nominate a person not already an elector in his own right in the same constituency to be its authorised representative to vote at an election. That person may not be the authorised representative of another elector in the same or any other constituency. However, if eligible, a person may be registered to vote both in the electoral college and in the functional constituency to which he belongs apart from voting as an authorised representative. For the year, the number of electors reg- istered in the electoral college and the functional constituencies stands at 438 and 42 581 respectively, as compared to the corresponding potential electorate of 439 and 71 656.
The qualifications for candidature are simple: for an electoral college constituency, any person who is an elector registered under the Electoral Provisions Ordinance (and not necessarily be an elector in any electoral college constituency) and who has been resident in Hong Kong for the preceding 10 or more years, may be nominated if supported by five electors in that constituency. For a functional constituency, any person who is an elector registered under the Electoral Provisions Ordinance, has been resident in Hong Kong for the preceding 10 or more years and has a substantial connection with the relevant functional constituency may be nominated if supported by 10 electors in the constituency concerned.
Voting is by absolute majority, with the use of a repeated ballot system for electoral college constituencies and a preferential voting system for functional constituencies. Elections are conducted every third year after 1985.